As a member of the student council, I helped out at the graduation rites of the Faculty of Civil Law’s seniors class. Then I went off to the usual McDonald’s store along Quezon Avenue for an all-nighter study group with some classmates.
Posts tagged with law blockmates
The last lecture day before our final exams weeks was on a Saturday. We usually only have one morning class on Saturdays, but that day we were in school till late afternoon for a make-up class. We had packed tosilog meals in the morning and pizza in the afternoon to mark the end of our first year lectures.
By the way, I just noticed–doodles on the board are not by our professors, nor by us law students. They are probably drawn by Pharmacy students who use the classrooms during weekday mornings.
That afternoon, I received a text message from one of my classmates, “Menu for tonight: sweet and sour pork, rellenong bangus, fish and tofu, steamed fish and pancit canton.” Wow, a fiesta? Usually for our last lecture days with our professors, we just order pizza. That night, it was different. (We chip in for the class fund, by the way).
It was the last week of lecture classes for the second semester of our first year in law school. By tradition, we have something special on our last day of lecture class for most of our professors. On Tuesday, we had some sushi in class right after our last lecture in Criminal Law 2.
Earlier, Mong took me to the congressmen’s lounge to have late lunch. He regularly takes one of his staff to the lounge each day to take part of the ‘free buffet’ for congressmen. But we have to wait till 3 PM. I also bumped into Congressman Socrates of Palawan, who is a senior fraternity brother.
After class, at around half past 9 PM, we decided to have late dinner at Army Navy’s along Tomas Morato. I was intrigued because, earlier, my seatmate in class brought in a big ass burger and tasty shoestring fries from Army Navy which he finished in a few minutes just before lecture started. When I tried it myself later that night, it turned out to be just fancy fastfood, nothing I would really crave for in the future. The basic classic burger costs P130.
I have often thought of starting a small blog project, documenting all the eateries and restaurants around UST, and within Sampaloc, Manila and its vicinity, that my classmates and I eat at after class in the evenings on weekdays. I would even include those places we stop by along the way to Quezon City, when I was still taking a car every night to and from school with some carpool buddies. It’s just that we don’t eat out that often, anymore, because suddenly we’re all a bunch of spendthrifts because of all the price hikes.
We’re nearing our final examinations, and the end of our first year in law school. Well, for me, it’s my second end of first year.
On my way home last night, our bus got flagged by an MMDA traffic enforcer for allegedly taking in passengers while in the middle of the road. The bus did slow down somewhere along Quezon Avenue in front of Santo Domingo church, but the bus driver protested that no one really boarded the bus. What an excuse, I thought. But the moment the traffic enforcer started bossing around and power tripping, I switched side. Napaka-salbahe pala talaga ng MMDA sa mga bus driver. No wonder bus drivers and traffic enforcers see each other as mortal enemies.
We law students were required to attend the “Quadricentennial Parade” of the University of Santo Tomas last Wednesday, one of the many events that the university had in store for its week-long celebration of the beginning of its 400th year of existence.
The march of thousands of Thomasians snaked along España Avenue, Morayta, Recto, Earnshaw and back to UST. We passed through the other schools of uptown Manila’s “University Belt”, cheering and playing loud music, probably causing disruptions in their classes. I found it pretty odd how from the moment we enroll in the university we students were made to swear by rules not to join noisy marches and rallies or anything that would “˜disrupt’ classes, and yet here we were, being made to do exactly that. And for what? A sectarian celebration. Ordinary folk in the streets were probably wondering what the ruckus is all about and how it is relevant to their lives, the parade having had caused a major traffic jam in Sampaloc for an hour or two.
I wasn’t a total scrooge, by the way, as I did enjoy the march, something activists are used to doing, for more relevant causes anyway. I hope the march rehearsed many Thomasians for more relevant marches in the future. Happy 400th UST!
After our last final examinations marking the end of our first semester in our first year in UST Law, the class celebrated with a party at a classmates’ house in Quezon City. Haha, that’s enough said.
Click here for the rest of the pictures. Incriminating pictures not included.
It was the weekend before our final examinations week. We had our last lecture class for the semester that Saturday morning. I knew what was coming. Since I was doing it all over again in a new school, it didn’t feel as stressful as before, but the sleepless nights were still there, for sure.
Victor Villanueva
law student, national democracy activist, film school graduate, photography hobbyist